Paul Pelosi’s accused attacker held without bail

David Depape pictured in California in 2013. (Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP/PA)

A San Francisco judge has ordered the man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home, beating her husband and seeking to kidnap her, to be held without bail.

Adam Lipson, a lawyer for defendant David DePape, entered a not guilty plea on Depape’s behalf during the brief hearing in Superior Court in San Francisco.

It was the first public appearance since the early Friday attack for DePape, a fringe activist drawn to conspiracy theories.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi (Kevin Wolf/AP/PA)

The attack on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi sent shockwaves through the political world just days before the hotly contested midterm elections.

Threats against politicians and election officials have been at all-time highs in this first nationwide election since the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, and authorities have issued warning about rising extremism in the US.

DePape, 42, faces state charges of attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. The public defender’s office, which is representing him, has not commented.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins had said on Monday that prosecutors want to keep DePape behind bars because he poses “obvious and severe public safety risks”.